System and method for management of digital media

ABSTRACT

A media management system configured provides functionality to store, organize, and share digital media. The media management system may capture media in one or more media capture sessions and organize the media according to the time at which it was created or captured. An adaptable media grouping system is included to allow desired media to be quickly and easily located through coarse and fine groupings. The media management system may also manage and share URLs. The media management system may be implemented on various hardware devices, including mobile, desktop, and other computing devices.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 61/749,304, titled System and Method for Management ofCaptured Digital Media, filed Jan. 5, 2013.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The invention relates to data storage and retrieval systems, and inparticular to a system and method for management of captured digitalmedia.

Related Art

The devices, features and functions described herein are intended toaddress shortcomings in traditional remote file storage and sharingsystems, often referred to as cloud storage. There are currently anumber of file sharing methods available that offer users the capabilityto share media (files, folders, music, movies, etc.) between devices andbetween users.

The invention herein provides new functionality to improve the usercapabilities for sharing media, as well as introduce new ways to addressother shortcomings with traditional media storage, sharing, andorganization systems.

From the discussion that follows, it will become apparent that thepresent invention addresses the deficiencies associated with the priorart while providing numerous additional advantages and benefits notcontemplated or possible with prior art constructions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In general, the media management system disclosed herein is configuredto organize, store, and share digital media, including pictures, audio,video, text and various combinations thereof in a unique fashion. Aswill be described herein, the media management system may include, TimeCapsule, Link Locker, and Adaptive Media Grouping functionality.

In general, Time Capsule refers to a method of capturing and groupingmedia during an event on a mobile device, for the purpose of sharing itwith one or more recipients, Link locker refers to a method ofcapturing, logging, storing and sharing URL links in a similar manner tothe way in which you would a file or a group of files, songs, movies orother media, and Adaptive Media Grouping refers method for quickly andeasily grouping multiple pieces of media into coarse and fine groupingsbased on various predefined characteristics of the media.

The media management system may be implemented in various ways. Forexample, in one embodiment, a mobile device is provided, comprising oneor more capture devices configured to receive a plurality of digitalmedia items, a sliding control configured to slide along a predefinedpath, and a display configured to present the digital media items to auser in the groups prior to movement of the sliding control. Each of thedigital media items have one or more characteristics for use in groupingthe digital media items. In addition, the groups are formed such thateach of the groups contains a distinct subset of the digital mediaitems. In other words, no two groups contain the same digital mediaitems.

The mobile device also includes a processor configured to decrease theplurality of groups (such that there are fewer groups) in response tomovement of the sliding control in a first direction along thepredefined path, and to increase the plurality of groups (such thatthere are more groups) in response to movement of the sliding control ina second direction along the predefined path. After the plurality ofgroups has been increased or decreased, the processor assigns each ofthe digital media items to one of the groups based on thecharacteristics. This distributes the each of the digital media itemsinto a group after the number of groups has been increased or decreasedthereby ensuring that all digital media items are in a group even afterthe number of groups has been increased or decreased. The displaypresents each of the digital media items in the one of the groups towhich it has been assigned.

It is noted that a distinct period of time is associated with each ofthe groups. In addition, the characteristics may consist of a creationtime of the digital media items. This allows digital media items to begrouped according to their individual creation times. One or morecommunication devices configured to share all digital media items in auser selected one of the groups by transmitting the digital media itemsto a remote device may also be included in the mobile device.

A storage device configured to store the digital media items may also beincluded. It is noted that the digital media items may be arranged inone or more subsets according to their type in each of the groups. Thedigital media items may be various types of media, such as URL links,audio files, video files, text files, and image files.

In another exemplary embodiment, a media management system mightcomprises a plurality of digital media items, a plurality of distinctgroups configured to contain one or more of the digital media items, anda sliding control configured to slide along a predefined path, whereinmovement of the sliding control in a first direction indicates a userselection of a coarse media grouping and movement of the sliding controlin a second direction indicates a user selection of a fine mediagrouping. Each of the distinct groups is associated with a distinctperiod of time. It is noted that the sliding control may be provided bythe display (e.g., presented on the display), and the first directionmay be left and the second direction may be right for the slidingcontrol. In addition or alternatively, the predefined path of thesliding control may be a linear horizontal path.

A processor of the media management system is configured to group eachof the digital media items into the distinct groups, wherein a digitalmedia item is added to one of the groups when its creation time iswithin the group's associated period of time. In addition, the processorincreases the plurality of distinct groups and contract the period oftime associated with each of the distinct groups in response to the userselection of the fine media grouping, and decreases the plurality ofdistinct groups and expand the period of time associated with each ofthe distinct groups in response to the user selection of the coarsemedia grouping. Each of the digital media items is then assigned by theprocessor to one of the distinct groups after the plurality of distinctgroups is increased or decreased.

A display of the media management system is configured to present thedigital media items, wherein each of the digital media items ispresented within one of the distinct groups based on the digital mediaitem's creation time.

It is noted that the media management system may include a communicationdevice configured to share all digital media items in a user selectedone of the groups by transmitting the digital media items to a remotedevice. A storage device configured to store the digital media items mayalso be provided.

As stated above, the digital media items may be arranged in one or moresubsets according to their type in each of the groups. In addition, thedigital media items may be various media, including URL links, audiofiles, video files, text files, and image files.

Various methods of managing media are disclosed herein as well. Forexample, in one embodiment, a method of managing media with at a mobiledevice comprises capturing a plurality of digital media items with acapture device of the mobile device, storing the digital media items ona storage device, and assigning the digital media items to a pluralityof distinct groups, wherein each of the distinct groups contains adistinct subset of the digital media items.

The method also includes providing a sliding control, where the slidingcontrol configured to move along a predefined path, wherein movement ofthe sliding control in a first direction indicates a user selection of acoarse media grouping and movement of the sliding control in a seconddirection indicates a user selection of a fine media grouping.

In response to receiving the user selection of the coarse mediagrouping, the plurality of distinct groups is decreased such that thereare fewer groups. In contrast, in response to receiving the userselection of the fine media grouping, the plurality of distinct groupsis increased such that there are more groups. After increasing ordecreasing the plurality of distinct groups, the digital media items maybe re-assigned to the distinct groups, wherein each of the distinctgroups contains a distinct subset of the digital media items. Thisensures that each of the digital media items is in one of the distinctgroups after the number of groups is increased or decreased.

After assigning the digital media items to the distinct groups, thedigital media items may be presented in the distinct groups on a displaydevice of the mobile device. Likewise, after re-assigning the digitalmedia items to the distinct groups, the digital media items may bepresented in the distinct groups on a display device of the mobiledevice. It is noted that all digital media items in a user selected oneof the distinct groups may be transmitted to a remote device to sharethe digital media items.

Other systems, methods, features and advantages of the invention will beor will become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination ofthe following figures and detailed description. It is intended that allsuch additional systems, methods, features and advantages be includedwithin this description, be within the scope of the invention, and beprotected by the accompanying claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasisinstead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention.In the figures, like reference numerals designate corresponding partsthroughout the different views.

FIGS. 1A-1F illustrate operation of Time Capsule in an exemplaryembodiment of the media management system;

FIGS. 2A-2I illustrate operation of Link Locker in an exemplaryembodiment of the media management system;

FIGS. 3A-3F illustrate operation of Adaptive Media Grouping in anexemplary embodiment of the media management system;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary environment of usefor the media management system;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary mobile device of themedia management system; and

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating operation of an exemplary mediamanagement system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth inorder to provide a more thorough description of the present invention.It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that thepresent invention may be practiced without these specific details. Inother instances, well-known features have not been described in detailso as not to obscure the invention.

In general, the media management system disclosed herein is configuredto organize, store, and share digital media, including pictures, audio,video, text and various combinations thereof in a unique fashion. Aswill be described further below, the media management system may beprovided via a mobile device, such as a smartphone, tablet, PDA,portable media player, laptop computer, or other portable computingdevice.

The disclosure herein is separated into three specific systems andmethods, namely, Time Capsule, Link Locker, and Adaptive Media Grouping.As will be described in detail further below, Time Capsule refers to amethod of capturing and grouping media during an event on a mobiledevice, for the purpose of sharing it with one or more recipients, Linklocker refers to a method of capturing, logging, storing and sharing URLlinks in a similar manner to the way in which you would a file or agroup of files, songs, movies or other media, and Adaptive MediaGrouping refers method for quickly and easily grouping multiple piecesof media into coarse and fine groupings based on various predefinedcharacteristics of the media.

It is noted that one or more or all of the specific systems and methodsmay be provided as part of a single media management system. Inaddition, it is contemplated that, though certain functionality isdisclosed herein as being activated by particular user interfaceelements or controls (such as buttons), various user interface elementsor controls could be used to access, activate or otherwise use the mediamanagement system herein.

Time Capsule

Time Capsule includes systems and methods for creating a session on amobile device for the purpose of sharing media, and then activating theshare at the conclusion of the event that was created. In this manner,Time Capsule collects media (and information in general) during a userdefined event period or session. Media collected during a session canthen be shared with one or more recipients as desired.

In operation, Time Capsule will log all items that appear on the deviceafter the timestamp for initiating the event has been created. TimeCapsule will continue to log all new media and items appearing on thedevice until an ending timestamp is recorded on the device as anindication of that the session has ended. The user can start, stopand/or pause/resume the session at anytime. The user can also choose toadd to an existing session.

Operation of Time Capsule will now be described with reference to FIGS.1A-1F. As can be seen in FIG. 1A, the user of the mobile device 102,which may be a smartphone, tablet, PDA, portable media player, pad,laptop, or other portable computing device, will generate a timestamp onthe mobile device 102 by activating the application software 110 on thedevice. An application window 112 will appear on a screen of the mobiledevice. This indicates that the application software is running, andthat the mobile device 102 is ready to capture media. It is noted that amobile device 102 may utilize various operating systems, now known orlater developed, including iOS, Android, Windows, or the like.

Time Capsule may be activated in various ways. Typically, a user willengage one or more user interface elements, such as buttons, switches,links or the like to active Time Capsule. As shown in FIG. 1A forexample, the user may activate a menu button 115 and engage a “TimeCapsule” button 120 to activate Time Capsule. Once Time Capsule isactivated, the user can begin to record video, take photos, notes, orintroduce new media of any type to the device. As this media is beingadded to the device, Time Capsule will record the name, type andlocation of the media. It is noted that some or all the data beingstored by Time Capsule may be stored locally on the mobile device 102,on a remote server, or both. Typically, captured media will be storedlocally on the mobile device 102.

Referring to FIG. 1B, it can be seen that the software application mayinclude a settings screen 125 configured to prompt the user foradditional information, such as a session name, select users to sharecaptured media with, or enter additional settings for the session. Asshown in FIG. 1B for example, an input field 126 is provided to receivea session name from the user, while buttons 127, 128 allow a user toselect users to share captured media with and to configured additionalsettings, respectively. A “Start” button 130 is provided to initiate themedia recording session, and a “Cancel” button 129 is provided to cancelthe session.

If engaged, the “Start” button 130 will initiate a media capturesession. A timestamp will typically be generated when the mediarecording session is initiated as disclosed above. At the conclusion ofthe media recording session, the user can stop the Time Capsule byinitiating an “End” command or button, which will generate a finishingtimestamp on the device and associated the finishing timestamp with themedia recording session that was ended.

The user may then be prompted to either edit the media that has beencollected within the media recording session, or to share the mediawithout the need for manually reviewing and selecting media to share orto remove from the share. If the user elects to share media, the usercan select recipients from his list of contacts and then initiate theshare, such as shown in FIG. 1C.

As can be seen from FIG. 1C, the software application my provide a sharescreen 133 with various user interface elements to allow a user tosearch for and select recipients, add new recipients, and set usepermissions such as download and privacy permissions. For example, aninput field 134 and a “Contacts” button 135 are provided to allow theuser to select/identify his or her desired recipients. A “Permissions”button 136 is provided to allow the user to define use permissions. Ascan be seen, a use permissions control 137 may be shown to allow theuser to specify particular use permissions after the “Permissions”button 136 has been engaged. A “Done” button 132 is provided to endrecipient selection and begin media distribution to the selectedrecipients. A “Clear” button 138 may be activated to reset the currentselection of recipients, if desired. The user may access the sharescreen 133 in various ways, including by engaging a “Share” button fromthe settings screen 125, such as shown in FIG. 1C.

The shared media typically will not be transferred to the recipients'devices, but will instead be hosted on a cloud or other remote datastorage repository (such as a remote server as described below) wherethe recipients can access, review and enjoy the media, without having ittake up unnecessary space on their mobile devices. The shared media willstay in place and will remain available until the owner of the shareremoves the media or otherwise terminates the share. The owner (e.g.,the user that captured the media) can choose at any time to allow therecipients full access to the media, which would grant them downloadpermission to the media. These media access permissions are granted andcontrolled by the owner of the media, and can be modified, edited orrevoked at anytime by the owner.

These permissions can further be assigned either directly to the media,or the recipient. Allowing the share to be created by either media orthe recipient gives the owner advanced control over the media beingshared. Further, the ability to eliminate or “un-share” the media (orgroups of media) is simple to initiate in this manner.

As can be seen, the permission settings on the media being shared arebased on the recipient of the share, as opposed to the media itself.With this permission based sharing, the shares can be managed by theuser without the need for passwords or other traditional protectionmethods. Permissions are always controlled by the owner of the share,and can be changed and/or revoked at any time while the share is active.This gives the media owner ultimate control over their content. Sharescan be taken back at any time, regardless of the content of the share,the user the share is tied to, or the media being shared.

Further details regarding the additional settings that may be configuredfor a media recording session will now be described with reference toFIG. 1D. As can be seen, additional settings may be specified via anadditional settings screen 139 presented by the software application.The additional settings screen 139 may be activated in various ways,including by engaging an “Additional Settings” button of the settingsscreen 125 as shown in FIG. 1D.

Some exemplary additional settings include what type of networkconnection to use to upload (for sharing purposes) media from a mediarecording session, or whether the media should be reviewed prior tosharing. The user may specify that any type of network connection may beused to upload media or that only particular network connections may beused. For example, selecting WiFi would prevent media upload except whenthe mobile device has network connectivity via a WiFi connection. If theuser specifies that any available network connection be used, media willimmediately be uploaded as long as some type of network connection isavailable.

Similarly, if the user configured the additional settings such thatmedia will be uploaded without review, such media will be immediatelyshared. In one or more embodiments, the default setting will be toupload only after user review has occurred. However, as stated, this canbe changed. A confirmation dialog 146 may be presented if reviewsettings are changed after a media recording session has started.

As can be seen from FIG. 1D, the additional settings screen 139 mayinclude checkboxes 144, radio buttons 142, 143, or other user interfaceelements to allow the additional settings described above to beconfigured. Once the additional settings have been configured asdesired, they may be saved by engaging a “Save” button 147.Alternatively, changed to additional settings may be canceled byengaging a “Cancel button 148.

Media capture or recording will now be described with regard to FIG. 1E.Media recording may be initiated in various ways, including by engaginga “Start” button 130 on the settings screen 125 as shown in FIG. 1E.Upon actuating the “Start” button 130, the user is immediately taken totheir native camera application 155 within their device. This allows theuser to begin creating photographs or video captures to include withintheir Time Capsule share. Upon completing video or picture session, theuser may exit their camera application 155. The user may return to thetime capsule function by actuating the time capsule icon 110, or bydepressing the “Back” button 156 on their device. Since device operatingsystems vary, there is no way for Time Capsule to determine where thedevice will default to once the camera application has been exited.Exiting the camera application does not pause or stop the Time Capsule(media capture) feature. Time Capsule will continue to run in thebackground until the user manually terminates the session by actuatingthe “Stop” button 133 (described below).

As shown in FIG. 1E, the user returns to the time capsule settingsscreen 125 when re-entering the program after a session has begun. Theuser can re-enter the program by accessing the icon 110 on their device.Once the user re-enters Time Capsule after starting a session, the“Start” button 130 will now appear as a “Pause” button 131 allowing theuser to pause the current session. In addition to the “Pause” button,the “Cancel” button 132 becomes a “Stop” button 133. Depressing the“Stop” button 133 will end the session. A status icon 160 may also bepresented to indicate the Time Capsule is running. The status icon 160(or other indicator) may also provide other information. For example, inFIG. 1E, the status icon 160 shows how many items have been added to themedia recording session.

It is noted that there is typically no expiration time associated with amedia recording session. The user can activate a media recording sessionand terminate/end it at anytime with no predetermined window of time. Inthis manner, a media recording session can run indefinitely, and willcontinue to log and monitor new media being added to the mobile device(including media captured by the mobile device or media transferred tothe mobile device).

As described briefly above, media editing functionality may be included.In general, the media editing functionality allows the user to reviewthe media before sharing it with other users. As an example, if a useris at a car show taking pictures and accidentally shoots a bad photo, itcan be easily eliminated from the share prior to initiating the share.Likewise, media on the device that was created at an earlier date (priorto the time capsule timestamp starting the event) can easily be added tothe share.

During the review process, media can be arranged in any order that theuser chooses. Using the car show example, the media owner can choose toput the car pictures, lectures, video and notes in any order they'dlike, to enhance the experience of the media recipients. If they do notwish to choose an order, the media will be shared in the order in whichit appears on the device. Reverse order, random, and custom orders mayalso be selected.

FIG. 1F illustrates an exemplary review screen 166. The review screen166 may be activated in various ways, including by engaging the statusicon 160 or button from the application window 112. On the review screen166, the user can select/deselect media to be contained in a share. Anicon or other indicator may show which media has been selected. The usermay then continue the media recording section (where additional mediamay be captured) or share the media, such as by engaging a “Resume”button 168 or “Next” button 169, respectively.

Engaging the “Next” button 169 may activate a settings screen 125 havinga “Finished” button 170. The “Finished” button 170, when engaged, willtypically activate media sharing. A “Back” button 171 may be provided toallow the user to return to the review screen 166 if additional reviewor changes are desired.

Link Locker

Link Locker is file management system and method that allows URL links(such as those from the Internet) to be treated, managed, and sharedexactly like files or folders. In this manner, Link Locker allows a userto store and share URL links in the same manner as an actual file. URLlinks to media on the Internet will typically be captured and stored byway of an application file that the user can download directly to theircomputer or their mobile device. As used herein, a URL link is a uniqueidentifier that points to a specific location on the Internet or otherremote digital repository. These links are typically unique to thespecified media.

Operation of Link Locker will now be described with regard to FIGS.2A-2H. As shown in FIG. 2A, the user may navigate to a web page 205 theydesire. The user can then copy the URL link 210 to the file managementsystem to add it to the system. As will be described further below, alink capture button 211 (FIG. 2B) may reside on the main page or toolbarof the browser, allowing the user to simply click the icon to capturethe URL information they are interested in storing and/or sharing(similar to a “bookmark” function).

Once the information is recorded, the user can go into their filemanagement system account, as shown in FIG. 2B, and the URL will belisted on a file management screen. The file management screen 215 mayresemble a typical file management screen that you would find within theWindows, Mac, or Linux operating systems. A “Save Link” button 220 maybe provided within the file management screen 215 to allow users to savethe URL link.

Once, the “Save Link” button 220 is engaged, the user may be prompted toname the link and to store it in a specific menu (folder location)within the file management system's database, such as via a save dialog226 as shown in FIG. 2C. An example of this would be a user collectingrecipes from the Internet. They would create and store the link withinthe file management system in their “recipes” folder. One or more inputfields 227, 228 may respectively be provided to accept a name for theURL link as well as the URL link itself. A “Save” button 229 may beprovided to save the URL link into the file management system. The usermay engage a “Cancel” button 230 to cancel the saving operation.

Referring now to FIG. 2D, it can be seen that a saved URL link 231 willappear in the folder location 232 specified. Once the URL link is storedwithin the file management system, the user has advanced sharing andmanagement capabilities for the URL link. These include:

1. Renaming the URL links to any identifier the user chooses, withoutcompromising the integrity of the URL link. URL links can be renamed aninfinite amount of times.

2. Storing the URL link anywhere within the system and move or relocateit at anytime.

3. Sharing the URL link in groups with multiple recipientssimultaneously.

4. Adding the URL links to a list or series of links or other media thatare selected by the media owner for sharing. These lists may be createdby simply selecting media from within the system for inclusion in theshare, and then initiating the share. When using lists, the URL linkscan be shared along with other types of media including video, audio,files, folders, notes and other electronically stored media. Listsharing allows any combination of links, files, folders and other mediato be shared.

A user may share a save URL link 231 by engaging a “Share” button 233.As shown in FIG. 2E, the user may then select how URL links should beshared via a sharing options dialog 235. For example, URL links may beshared with a user's contacts or via a sharing link generated by thefile management system for such purposes. Various buttons 236, 237 maybe provided to accept this user selection.

Referring to FIG. 2F, a contact listing 239 may be displayed if the userelects to share 236 with his or her contacts. If the user elects toshare by creating a URL link 237, a dialog box 238 will appear in theupper left-hand corner of the user screen, confirming to the user that aURL link has been copied for the share. The user may now paste that linkinto a variety of different receptacles for sharing the media. Theseinclude (but are not limited to) emails, documents, publications, chatsessions, text message sessions and other various written communicationmethodologies. The sharing with contacts dialog 240 may provide one ormore sharing options to allow sharing in various ways. For instance, asshown in FIG. 2D, URL links may be shared by copying the sharing linkfor pasting to a desired location by email, via Facebook, viadownloadable URL. An option may be provided to delete the sharing linkas well. One or more buttons 241, 242, 243, 244, 245 may be associatedwith these (and other) sharing options to allow a user to select thedesired sharing option. A “Close” button 246 may be engaged if the userdecides to cancel the sharing operation.

The file management system may also provide general file managementcapabilities for URL links. As shown in FIGS. 2G-2H for example, URLlinks can be edited by engaging a “Manage” button 247 to reveal editingoperations 248. Some exemplary file management operations includerenaming a URL link and deleting a URL link. A “Rename” button 250 and“Delete” button 251 may be presented to respectively activate suchoperations when engaged. It is noted that a “Download” button 249 mayalso be provided to allow a URL link to be downloaded to local storage.

A rename dialog 252 may be used to prompt the user to edit the currentname of a URL link. As can be seen from FIG. 2H, an input field 253 mayallow the name to be edited, while a “Save” button 254 allows the userto save the changes to the URL link's name. A “Cancel” button 255 isprovided to cancel the renaming operation if the user so desires. It isnoted that the user cannot modify the URL link 256 during this process.

It is noted that URL links do not need to be downloaded to the receivingdevice to be actuated. They can be actuated from the host device, takingthe user immediately to the link address. This prevents the recipient ofthe media or link from using valuable space on their mobile device forstoring shared media. All of the shared media can easily be storedwithin the host file management account.

Unlike sharing files or folders, permissions are not assigned to URLlink shares. Since URL links are public domain, permissions are notrequired. If a URL link is shared within a list, the permissionsgoverning the share (set by the share owner) will be applied only to thephysical media (files, folders, songs, movies, videos, notes, etc.)being shared, and will not apply to the URL links.

As with other methods of sharing disclosed herein, these Link Lockershares can be eliminated at any time the media owner chooses. Forinstance, a media owner can simply choose to terminate the share basedon the user or the media being shared. This provides maximum versatilityto the media owner.

In one or more embodiments, a portion of Link Locker may reside as anadd-on or plugin to a web browser like Chrome, Firefox, InternetExplorer or other browser designed to access and navigate the Internet.For example, as shown in FIG. 2I, a link capture button 211 is providedat the user's web browser 260. Activating the link capture button 211will automatically store the current URL link on the web browser 260 inthe file management system. Thereafter, the URL link can be accessed,managed, stored, and shared as described above.

Adaptive Media Grouping

Systems and methods for file organization or grouping are also disclosedherein. In general, Adaptive Media Grouping allows for grouping of mediawithin a mobile device based on a creation time or first appearancetimeline. The groupings may be coarse or fine in definition, based onthe slider or rotary controls set by the user. In this manner, media isgrouped by creation date and time for the purpose of finding specificpast events within the mobile device. In addition to the date and timeof creation for media grouping, media may also be grouped by type withinthe mobile device. This enhances the user's ability to group media forthe purpose of being able to instantly identify and share a specificgroup of media, identified by either time and date, media type, or both.

Stated another way, media grouping as disclosed herein allows files,folders, and other media to be sorted and grouped within the devicealong a continuum between coarse media groupings and fine mediagroupings, based on a creation timeline of the media, and the type ofmedia present within the device. In this manner, the user will have thecapability of actuating a slider control or the like on the screen oftheir mobile device to allow media to be grouped on their device basedon creation time and media type.

The terms “coarse” and “fine” refer to the level of detail with whichthe user wishes to sort their media. Various user interface elements,such as a slider or a dial, may be provided to allow a user to indicatea more coarse or fine level of media grouping and selection. A mediagrouping system that identifies each piece of media stored within thedevice by date (of appearance on the device) and by file type may beprovided to allow such control over file organization.

Operation of Adaptive Media Grouping will now be described withreference to FIGS. 3A-3D. It is contemplated that the media groupingsystem may be built into a mobile device, such as via its operatingsystem or may be provided as a separate software application. In one ormore embodiments, a user of a mobile device may engage a button or iconto activate the media grouping system.

FIG. 3A illustrates an exemplary mobile device 102 storing various mediaon its storage device 310. The media grouping system may identify mediaby type and by its first appearance on the storage device 310 to permita user to access such media accordingly. As shown by storage device 310,the media is stored on the device, but not sorted in any fashion.Storage device 315 illustrates the media after it has been sorted usingthe adaptive media grouping process. Some exemplary types of digitalmedia items or files include music 316, documents and notes 317,pictures and photos 318 and movies and videos 319. In general, the mediagrouping system will be configured to log and sort any media type thatcan be captured or stored on its mobile device 102.

As shown in FIGS. 3B-3E, once the media grouping system is activated, aslider 323 (or other control) will appear on the screen which will allowthe user to adjust it to the right or the left, depending on the levelof granularity they require in their media search. Grouped digital mediaitems can then be selected and viewed in sections based on the creationtime frame and media type. Each group of digital media items willtypically be delineated by an indicator or marking. For example, digitalmedia items that are in a grouping may be within a box or other enclosedshape. Alternatively or in addition, one or more lines, spaces or otherindicators/markings may be presented between groupings of digital mediaitems to indicate which digital media items are grouped together. Asshown in FIG. 3C for example, the groupings of digital media items areseparated by a relatively larger space (as compared to the spacing ofthe digital media items within a grouping) between the groupings. InFIG. 3E, dashed lines indicate individual groupings of digital mediaitems. FIG. 3F shows an exemplary embodiment where groups of digitalmedia items are delineated by a title bar provided by its user interface335 that separates individual groups of digital media items from oneanother. As described above, adjusting the slider 323 would causevarious digital media items to move from one group to another.

FIGS. 3C and 3E respectively illustrate coarse and fine organization ofmedia. As can be seen in FIG. 3C, media 322 is loosely grouped by typeand first appearance (i.e., creation time) on the mobile device when ina course media grouping. In the example of FIG. 3C, three groupings ofthe media on the mobile device are generated by the selected coarsemedia grouping. In contrast, FIG. 3E shows that a fine media groupinggroups media tightly based on type and its first appearance on themobile device. Fine media groupings result in more granularity and moregroups as compared to coarser groupings. As can be seen in FIG. 3E,seven media groupings result from the finer selection as compared to thethree groupings of media 322 created in FIG. 3C. The number of groupingspresent is a result of the time, date and media type being aggregated.The number of groupings in the examples of FIGS. 3C and 3E wererestricted to enhance understanding and explanation of thefunctionality. Total number of groupings is determined by the first andlast appearance of media, media types, and level of granularity selectedin file aggregation.

As can be seen, media may be presented, in coarse and fine groupings,organized by type 324 in the vertical direction and by first appearance325 in the horizontal direction (or vice versa in some embodiments). Theorder of media types may be predefined or selected by a user. Forexample, within a group, a media of a first type may be positioned abovemedia of a second type. In a more specific example, within a group,documents may be positioned above music and video files. This allows auser to quickly and easily locate various media on his or her mobiledevice, even when such mobile device has a limited or small screensize/resolution.

In one exemplary embodiment, various characteristics of the media may beweighted to produce the coarse and fine groupings. Some exemplarycharacteristics include, the creation time of the media and the type ofmedia (e.g., music or video). These characteristics will typically beassociated with the media. For example a media file may have a creationtime and type associated thereto. In one or more embodiments, the fileitself may have the characteristics embedded therein. In otherembodiments, the characteristics may be stored in a database or otherrecords.

Other characteristics may be used as well. For instance, the length orsize of the media, last access, or last modification time could be acharacteristic upon which a coarse or fine media grouping is based. Inaddition, in some embodiments, the user may be prompted to enter a name,description or both for the media. In such case, the name, descriptionor both could be used in grouping individual media items as shown inFIGS. 3C and 3E.

FIG. 3F illustrates an exemplary graphical user interface 335 displayedon a mobile device 102 showing media groupings 336, 337. A slidercontrol 323 is provided to allow a user to adjust the groupings. As canbe seen, the fine and course media grouping is advantageous in allowingusers to quickly and easily find particular media via their mobiledevice. The file selection menu 338 for the coarse and fine mediagrouping can be used to determine the file types for grouping. The typesof files represented in the selection screen 338 are to be used as anexample. The actual file types are not limited to those pictured, andmay contain an alternate options menu 339 for additional granularity.

In operation, moving the slider 323 from fine to coarse generallyincreases the number of digital media items that meet the criteria forbeing in a particular group of digital media items. For example, asshown in FIGS. 3C and 3E moving the slider 323 from fine to coarse hasexpanded the period of time within which a digital media item has to becreated to be in a particular group. One way this can be accomplished isto identify the earliest and latest creation time for all digital mediaitems and determine the period of time between the earliest and lastcreation time. As the slider 323 is moved from fine to coarse thisperiod of time would be divided into fewer portions. The digital mediaitems would then be grouped into these portions of time based on theirindividual creation times. To illustrate, in FIG. 3E the overall periodof time has been divided into seven portions for a fine media grouping,while in FIG. 3C, the overall period of time is divided into threeportions for a coarse media grouping. Likewise, as the slider 323 ismoved from coarse to fine, the period of time would be divided into anincreased number of portions, as shown in FIG. 3E.

Within a grouping, digital media items may be arranged according totheir type as described above. For example, within a group digital mediaitems of a particular type may be positioned directly adjacent to oneanother, such as shown in storage device 315 of FIG. 3A. In this manner,subsets of digital media items may be created within a grouping. It iscontemplated that arranging digital media items within a group may beoptional, such as based on whether a user has activated suchfunctionality at the mobile device 102.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary environment of usefor the media management system. As can be seen, the media managementsystem may be used in a network environment including one or moreservers 404, mobile devices 102, desktop or other computing devices, orvarious combinations thereof.

A remote server 404, mobile device 102, or other computing device maycommunicate directly with one or more other devices via built-incommunication devices, such as wired or wireless network interfaces,modems, or the like. Alternatively or in addition, communication mayoccur through various networks 412, including but not limited to a LAN,WAN, or the Internet. This capability allows communication to occuracross a variety of distances and between various locations.

In this manner, media may be stored, shared, organized, or otherwisemanaged from virtually anywhere. For example, media and/or URL linkscaptured via Time Capsule or Link Locker may be shared with varioususers through various networks 412. In addition, media and/or URL linksmay be stored remotely, such as on a storage device 408 of a remoteserver 404 through various networks 412. In some embodiments, variousmedia and/or URL links may be stored on, replicated on, or backed up toa storage device 408 of a remote server 404 such as for sharing withother users or for later retrieval and use.

Some exemplary client devices will now be described with regard to FIG.5. FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary mobile device102. Though shown in FIG. 5 as a mobile device 102 it is noted that themedia management system may be provided and used on non-mobile devices,such as desktop computers, media players, gaming machines and the like.

As can be seen, a mobile device 102 may comprise one or more processors504, storage devices 520, and communication devices 528. The one or moreprocessors 504 may be configured to execute machine readable code orother instructions to provide the functionality disclosed herein. In oneor more embodiments, the instructions may be hardwired into a processor504 or may be stored on a storage device 520 for retrieval andsubsequent execution by the processor. It is contemplated that theinstructions may be downloaded from a server or other external datasource for storage and execution on the mobile device in one or moreembodiments. One or more memory devices 508 may be used as a cache orother temporary data storage during execution of the instructions.

A storage device 520 may also be used to store media or URL linkslocally on a mobile device 102. This is advantageous in embodimentswhere communication between a mobile device 102 and a remote server 404are limited or unavailable because local storage allows the mediamanagement system to be fully operational independent of the operationalstate of other devices or servers. To illustrate, Time Capsule may storemedia locally. The user may then retrieve the media via Adaptive MediaGrouping such as shown in FIG. 3F. As another example, Link Locker maystore URL links and names locally. A user may then retrieve and/or sharethe URL links directly from his or her mobile device 102 or othercomputing device (e.g., desktop/laptop computer).

A communication device 528 of the mobile device 102 may be configuredfor communication with external devices. For example, a communicationdevice 528 may communicate via a cellular radio, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth,Ethernet or the like. A communication device 528 may utilize variousstandard or proprietary communication protocols and may utilizeencryption, compression or other data security and efficiency methods.As can be seen, the communication device 528 may be capable of wired orwireless communication. Media, URL links and other types of informationmay be transmitted or received by a mobile device 102 via acommunication device 528.

Specifically with regard to Time Capsule, it is noted that acommunication device 528 may be configured to receive the current timefrom a remote server 404 or other device. The received time can then beused for time stamping purposes or to synchronize the mobile device'sinternal clock such that an accurate time is available for time stampingpurposes.

The mobile device 102 will typically also include one or more inputdevices 512 and one or more output devices to allow a customer tointeract and use the customer device. For example, an output device inthe form of a display screen 516 may be provided to provide informationand feedback to a customer, while an input 512 such as a touch screen,one or more buttons, or the like are used to receive input or commandsfrom the customer. As described above, the input and output devices 512,516 may be used to select access, operate, and otherwise use TimeCapsule, Link Locker, and Adaptive Media Grouping.

As can be seen, a mobile device 102 may also include one or more inputdevices in the form of one or more media capture devices 524 configuredto capture various media. For example, a media capture device 524 maycomprise various optical, audio, radio frequency or other sensors tocapture media. In one embodiment for example, a media capture device 524may comprise a camera for capturing images, or a microphone forcapturing audio.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating operation of Adaptive MediaGrouping at an exemplary media management system. These operations maybe implemented at a mobile or other device of the media managementsystem in one or more embodiments. At a step 604, digital media itemsmay be captured or received by the mobile device. For example, a digitalmedia item may be captured by a camera, microphone or other capturedevice. Alternatively or in addition, a digital media item may bereceived, such as from another device, via a communication device. Inthis manner, digital media items can be received at a mobile device viaits capture device or via download or other transmission from anexternal device.

At a step 608, the digital media items are assigned to individualgroups. At a step 612, the digital media items are presented via adisplay in their assigned groups. As discussed above with respect toFIGS. 3A-3E, a digital media item may be assigned to a particular groupbased on one or more of its characteristics. In one embodiment forexample, a digital media item may be assigned to a group based on thedigital media items creation time.

A group may include various criteria used to allow the mobile device toassign digital media items properly. Each group may be associated with aperiod of time for example. In this manner, one or more digital mediaitems may be assigned to a group if their creation time is within thegroup's associated period of time. As can be seen, matching a group'scriteria to characteristic(s) of a digital media item defines whichdigital media items are assigned to the group.

At a decision step 616, the mobile device may detect or determinewhether its sliding control or slider has been moved. If not, it iscontemplated that the process may optionally return to step 604 whereadditional digital media items may be captured or received. If theslider has been moved at decision step 616, then the number of groupsmay be changed at step 620. Typically, the number of groups will bereduced if the slider is moved to indicate a coarse media grouping isdesired by a user, while movement of the slider to indicate a fine mediagrouping increases the number of groups. As described above, the slidermay be moved in a first direction to indicate a coarse media grouping isdesired and in a second direction to indicate a fine media grouping isdesired (with the first and second directions being opposite or distinctdirections). As shown in FIGS. 3B-3E for instance the slider moveshorizontally along a predefined path from left to right and vice versa.

In general, each group will have criteria to control what digital mediaitems are assigned thereto (even after the number of groups has beenincreased or decreased). In this manner, the digital media items can bere-assigned to individual groups after the number of groups has changed,such as shown at step 624 of FIG. 6. As stated above, the criteriaassociated with each of the groups may be changed when the number ofgroups changes.

To illustrate with an example where creation time is the characteristicused to group digital media items, if the number of groups is increasedtheir associated periods of time may be decreased. The digital mediaitems are then re-assigned to the groups accordingly by includingdigital media items in groups where the creation time of the digitalmedia items fall within the period of time criteria for a group.

At a step 628, the digital media items are presented within theirindividual assigned groups (as determined by the re-assignment step 624above). Similar to step 612, the digital media items are presented via adisplay of the mobile device. The new presentation at step 628 reflectsthe change in the number of groups and re-assignment of digital mediaitems.

In this manner, a user may quickly group digital media items accordingto particular characteristics simply by moving the slider provided bythe mobile device. The user may then view, delete, modify, share, orotherwise interact with the digital media items. It is contemplated thatall digital media items in a group may be shared with other users via acommunication device of the mobile device. The user may select a groupfor sharing, such as via a touch or other input.

It is contemplated that the mobile device's processor(s) may be used toassign and re-assign the digital media items to groups as described withrespect to steps 608 and 624. A processor may also control a display topresent the digital media items in their assigned groups. In addition, aprocessor may be configured to determine or detect movement of theslider.

While various embodiments of the invention have been described, it willbe apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many moreembodiments and implementations are possible within the scope of thisinvention. In addition, the various features, elements, and embodimentsdescribed herein may be claimed or combined in any combination orarrangement.

What is claimed is:
 1. A mobile device comprising: a data storagedevice; one or more cameras that capture a plurality of digital mediaitems, each of the plurality of digital media items having one or moretime-based characteristics and a media type, each digital media item tobe stored on the data storage device; one or more buttons that indicatethe start or stop of a media capture session when engaged; a slidingcontrol that slides along a predefined path; a display that presents thesliding control, the one or more buttons, and one or more of theplurality of digital media items; the data storage device storinginstructions that, when executed: during the media capture sessionrecord to a log on the data storage device all digital media items whichare captured; start the media capture session when the one or morebuttons indicating start is engaged and record in the log a startingtime stamp; stop the media capture session when the one or more buttonsindicating stop is engaged and record in the log an ending time stamp;group a subset of the digital media items into an initial grouping, theinitial grouping comprising a plurality of groups, wherein, prior togrouping the subset into the initial grouping, the digital media itemsin the subset are first identified from the log and each group of theplurality of groups contains a distinct set of digital media items fromthe subset; in response to movement of the sliding control in a firstdirection along the predefined path, decrease the plurality of groupssuch that there are a fewer number of groups; in response to movement ofthe sliding control in a second direction along the predefined path,increase the plurality of groups such that there are more groups; andafter the plurality of groups has been increased or decreased, assigneach of the plurality of digital media items in the subset to one of theplurality of groups; store the plurality of groups on the data storagedevice; and a processor that executes the instructions; wherein afterthe plurality of groups has been increased or decreased, the displaypresents each of the plurality of digital media items in the subset inthe one of the plurality of groups to which it has been assigned;wherein one or more digital media items within each of the plurality ofgroups are presented by the display physically arranged along a firstaxis and a distinct second axis; wherein the physical arrangement alongthe first axis is based on their media type and the physical arrangementalong the distinct second axis is based on their one or more time-basedcharacteristics.
 2. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein a distinctperiod of time is associated with each of the plurality of groups. 3.The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the one or more time-basedcharacteristics include a creation time.
 4. The mobile device of claim 1further comprising one or more communication devices, wherein theinstructions, when executed by the processor, transmit one or more ofthe plurality of digital media items in one of the plurality of groupsto a remote device.
 5. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the firstaxis is perpendicular to the distinct second axis.
 6. A media managementsystem comprising: a data storage device; a capture device that capturesa plurality of digital media items, each having at least a firstcharacteristic and a distinct second characteristic associatedtherewith, each digital media item to be stored on the data storagedevice; one or more buttons; a sliding control that slides along apredefined path, wherein movement of the sliding control in a firstdirection indicates a user selection of a coarse media grouping andmovement of the sliding control in a second direction indicates a userselection of a fine media grouping; the data storage device storinginstructions that, when executed: during a media capture session recordto a log on the data storage device all digital media items which arecaptured; start the media capture session when the one or more buttonsindicating start is engaged and record in the log a starting time stamp;stop the media capture session when the one or more buttons indicatingstop is engaged and record in the log an ending time stamp; group asubset of the digital media items into an initial grouping, the initialgrouping comprising a plurality of distinct groups, wherein, prior togrouping the subset into the initial grouping, the digital media itemsin the subset are first identified from the log and each group of theplurality of distinct groups are associated with a distinct period oftime; increase the plurality of distinct groups such that there are anincreased number of groups, and contract the period of time associatedwith each of the plurality of distinct groups in response to the userselection of the fine media grouping; decrease the plurality of distinctgroups such that there are a fewer number of groups, and expand theperiod of time associated with each of the plurality of distinct groupsin response to the user selection of the coarse media grouping; assigneach of the digital media items in the subset to one of the plurality ofdistinct groups after the plurality of distinct groups is increased ordecreased; and for each of the plurality of distinct groups, sort theplurality of digital media items therein based at least on the firstcharacteristic and the distinct second characteristic; store theplurality of groups on the data storage device; a processor thatexecutes the instructions; and a display that presents the slidingcontrol and the plurality of digital media items, wherein each of theplurality of digital media items is presented within one of theplurality of distinct groups; wherein, within each of the plurality ofdistinct groups, the plurality of digital media items are presented bythe display physically arranged along a first axis and a distinct secondaxis; wherein the physical arrangement of the plurality of digital mediaitems along the first axis is based on the first characteristicassociated therewith, and the physical arrangement of the plurality ofdigital media items along the distinct second axis is based on thedistinct second characteristic associated therewith; wherein the firstcharacteristic is a time and the distinct second characteristic is amedia type.
 7. The media management system of claim 6 further comprisinga communication device, wherein the instructions, when executed by theprocessor, transmit one or more of the plurality of digital media itemswithin one of the plurality of distinct groups to a remote device. 8.The media management system of claim 6, wherein the first direction isleft and the second direction is right.
 9. The media management systemof claim 6, wherein the predefined path of the sliding control is alinear horizontal path.
 10. The media management system of claim 6,wherein the first axis is perpendicular to the distinct second axis. 11.A mobile-device implemented method of managing media comprising:capturing a plurality of digital media items with a camera of the mobiledevice, each of the plurality of digital media items having at least afirst characteristic and a distinct second characteristic associatedtherewith; storing the plurality of digital media items on a memory orstorage device; during a media capture session record to a log on thememory or storage device all digital media items which are captured;starting the media capture session when one or more buttons indicatingstart are engaged and record in the log a starting time stamp; stoppingthe media capture session when the one or more buttons indicating stopare engaged and record in the log an ending time stamp; assigning asubset of digital media items to a plurality of distinct groups, whereinprior to assigning the subset into the plurality of distinct groups, thedigital media items in the subset are first identified from the log;storing the plurality of distinct groups on the memory or storagedevice; presenting a sliding control that is moveable along a predefinedpath with a display of the mobile device, wherein movement of thesliding control in a first direction indicates a user selection of acoarse media grouping and movement of the sliding control in a seconddirection indicates a user selection of a fine media grouping; inresponse to receiving the user selection of the coarse media grouping,decreasing the plurality of distinct groups such that there are fewergroups; in response to receiving the user selection of the fine mediagrouping, increasing the plurality of distinct groups such that thereare more groups; after increasing or decreasing the plurality ofdistinct groups, re-assigning the plurality of digital media items inthe subset to the plurality of distinct groups, wherein each of theplurality of distinct groups contains a distinct subset of the pluralityof digital media items; and both after assigning and re-assigning theplurality of digital media items to the plurality of distinct groups,presenting the plurality of digital media items in the subset in theplurality of distinct groups with a display screen of the mobile device;wherein, within each of the plurality of distinct groups, the pluralityof digital media items are presented by the display physically arrangedalong a first axis and a distinct second axis; wherein the physicalarrangement of the plurality of digital media items along the first axisis based on the first characteristic associated therewith, and thephysical arrangement of the plurality of digital media items along thedistinct second axis is based on the distinct second characteristicassociated therewith; wherein the first characteristic is a time and thedistinct second characteristic is a media type.
 12. The method of claim11 further comprising transmitting all digital media items in a userselected one of the plurality of distinct groups to a remote device viaa communication device of the mobile device.
 13. The method of claim 11,wherein the first axis is perpendicular to the distinct second axis.